Lesson from an architectural photographer

Yesterday I attended a short course, along with three others, in architectural photography run by Calumet and tutored by Richard Southall. The course began rather chaotically, but adopting the Dirk Gently philosophy of “embracing the chaos”, it worked out well in the end.

After an introductory talk we went to a local office development, Regent’s Place, for some practical instruction from Richard. He demonstrated his approach, he suggested shots and he critiqued pictures the participants had taken. This combination worked well since there were only 4 of us.
For me the most valuable lesson was that it seems I subconciously avoid symmetry when composing, and symmetry, which is often present in man-made structures, can lead to strong photographs. As Edward Weston said, good composition is simply the strongest way of seeing.

So I must practice composing symmetrically over the next few weeks so that I don’t avoid it in future; so that it becomes part of my way of seeing.
A small but valuable lesson for me in photography, but the bigger lesson is: everyone needs a teacher. Thanks for the lesson Richard!

I couldn't resist an asymmetrical pic - sorry Richard!